1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processing a document and associated barcode, and, more particularly, to verification and other image processing features associated with the document and the barcode.
2. Description of Related Information
Barcoding is a widely used mechanism for facilitating the secure storage and communication of information. For example, barcodes are often used in retail environments for representing product identification numbers and prices. Alternatively, barcodes have been used on such objects as personal ID cards, driver's licenses and passports as a way to store alpha-numeric data such as names and dates.
Existing barcode systems are used to associate barcodes with documents such as hardcopy paper documents and electronic documents to facilitate their storage and distribution. Systems for transmitting documents and communicating related information sometimes include components capable of providing documents, such as textual, schematic, diagrammatic, graphical and photographic documents, in a secure manner. For example, barcodes have been associated with medical prescriptions for verifying contents therein. Accordingly, a pharmacy can scan a barcode located on a paper prescription to ensure that the drug name and dosage stored in the barcode are consistent with the information handwritten on the prescription. However, such components still generally leave the documents vulnerable to certain varieties of unauthorized tampering and alteration.
Thus, at the present time, existing barcode systems have not captured the amount of image data from a document sufficient for use in fully reproducing the document. Moreover, many barcode systems are limited to storage of information that is pre-existing within a database of barcode information and do not employ two-way comparison between the barcode and document image data. Finally, these systems have failed to sufficiently employ barcodes for concealing and/or encrypting confidential document information.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of associating barcodes with documents such that the barcodes may encode enough information to create a reproduction of the document. There is also a need for transmission of sensitive documents wherein document image data can be safely stored in an encrypted barcode prior to transmission for subsequent comparison to the face of the document. Moreover, there is a need for barcodes that may overlap the image or reproduced image, while still providing the ability to verifying correspondence between the image and the barcode. Also, there is a need to conceal confidential information on the face of a document by overlapping the information with an encrypted barcode, from which the information can be recovered.
In sum, there is a need for a system and method for processing image data associated with a document in order to create a barcode, from which the document can be reproduced. Features such as reproducing a barcode anywhere on the document or in the reproduced image of the document, including overlap of confidential information, are also desired.